Europe and Russia to colonise dark side of the Moon with joint space base

Moon base: Russia and the European Space Agency could work hand in hand for the ambitious mission (Image: Getty)

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The European Space Agency (ESA) is teaming up with Russia to colonise the Moon by building a space base, according to reports.

The mission is said to be set to launch in 2020, and will see astronauts live on the surface after constructing an outpost on it.

Russia's space agency Roscosmos has already committed to use its Luna 27 robotic lander to touch down on the dark side of the Moon - specifically in the South Pole–Aitken basin - to analyse the area.

Space base: The European Space Agency's vision for a Moon base (Image: ESA/Foster And Partners)

While Russia is fully set to take part in the mission, the ESA is not expected to formalise its involvement until 2016.

ESA’s lead scientist on the project said: "The south pole of the Moon is unlike anywhere we have been before.

Collaboration: Russia is welcoming any potential involvement from the ESA (Image: Getty)

He told the BBC "The environment is completely different, and due to the extreme cold there you could find large amounts of water-ice and other chemistry which is on the surface, and which we could access and use as rocket fuel or in life-support systems to support future human missions we think will go to these locations."

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During the mission the ESA would construct a lab on the Moon that will be used to analyse samples that are found by experts on the space base.

Exploration: A beautiful image of a Milky Way at La Silla, in Chile (Image: Caters)

Roscosmos is welcoming the reported ESA involvement with open arms.

"We have to go to the Moon," Roscosmos’ lead scientist on the project, Igor Mitrofanov, said.